Moore Lodge, 74 Greencastle Road, Kilkeel, Newry, Co Down, BT34 4JL

Moore Lodge

Moore Lodge is a substantial one-and-a-half storey house of three bays, facing south-east on the west side of Greencastle Road near Kilkeel. The building comprises a main block with return and annex wings, together with associated outbuildings and farm structures arranged around a rear yard.

The Main Block

The pitched roof is finished in natural slate with terracotta ridge tiles and concrete skews. Two concrete coped chimneys with octagonal pots sit one on either side of the central bay. The return roof to the right is also pitched natural slate, hipped to its gable, with a large cement rendered chimney at the hip. All walls are wet dashed and unpainted, with a deep smooth cement basecourse and projecting corbelled eaves. Semicircular metal rainwater goods run around the building.

The front elevation is dominated by a modern gabled porch abutting the central bay, with pitched natural slate roof. The porch has a six panelled painted timber door in its left cheek and a small 6/6 sliding sash window with horns in its front gable. The left and right bays of the main façade each contain a large 6/6 sliding sash window. All windows are modern replica sliding sashes with exposed boxes, granite cills, and smooth rendered architraves and reveals.

The right gable of the main block has a 6/6 sliding sash window at first floor, with the rest blank. The left gable is more complex: a modern advanced canted bay window with five cheeks occupies the ground floor, fitted with multi-glazed timber windows and concrete cills resting on dashed walling, topped with a flat leaded roof. A 6/6 sliding sash window sits at first floor above.

The rear elevation is partially obscured by return and annex wings, but the remaining exposed wall shows a 4x2 paned fixed window at ground floor right, and two first floor windows: a 2/2 sliding sash to the left and a 6/6 sliding sash to the right.

The Return Wing

A two-storey return projects to the right at the rear. Its right cheek (facing the yard) contains a modern tongue-and-groove door with a nine paned window inset, set right of centre at ground floor. To its left is a centred 2/2 sliding sash window, and to its right a narrow 1/1 window. At first floor are a 3/6 sliding sash window set left of the door below and a 2/4 sliding sash to the right. A single storey shed abuts the left corner of this elevation.

The rear elevation of the return has two small 3/3 sliding sash windows at ground floor (the right one set higher), and a small 2/2 sliding sash centred at first floor. A small outbuilding abuts the right corner.

The left cheek of the return, facing into the rear yard, is abutted at its right end by a one storey gabled porch with pitched natural slate roof, terracotta ridge tiles, a six panel bolection painted timber door in its left cheek, and a 2/2 sliding sash window in its front gable. The right cheek is blank. On the ground floor of the return wall proper, two sash windows flank the porch: a 3/6 to the left and a taller 6/6 to the right. Three sash windows occupy the first floor: a small 1/1 at the left junction with the main block, a 3/6 sliding sash in the centre directly above the ground floor 6/6 window, and a 3/6 over the porch to the right.

The Annex

The annex abuts the main block at the rear left, with its front elevation (south-east facing) parallel to and aligned with the main block. Its pitched natural slate roof is hipped where it meets the main block and gabled to the north end, with a smooth rendered chimney bearing octagonal pots at the gable end. Walls match those of the main block.

The front elevation contains two small sliding sash windows at ground floor: an 8/8 to the left and a narrower 4/2 to the right. A large 6/6 sliding sash is centred at first floor. The gable end is blank.

The rear elevation has a 2/4 sliding sash window at ground floor left (formerly a door) and a 6/6 sliding sash at first floor centre. The hipped gable section has a painted tongue-and-groove door at ground floor left, and at the extreme right where it meets the main block, a 2/2 sliding sash window at ground floor with a 6/6 sliding sash directly above at first floor.

The Coach House

A coach house with monopitched natural slate roof (sloping into the yard) abuts the annex, with blank dashed walls and a rounded corner to the front. Its rear wall contains a pair of tongue-and-groove sheeted top sliding doors opening into the rear yard.

The Outbuilding

An outbuilding abutting the rear right of the return is single storey with pitched natural slate roof. Its south-west (rear) wall and north-west gable are rubble stone with ochre coloured lime wash. Its front wall (into the yard) is dashed like the house, with a door to the left and a two paned window to the right. The south-east gable is dashed.

The Farm Buildings

To the rear of the yard stand a barn, a two storey animal house with loft over, and the remains of a third range of outbuildings now demolished.

The barn occupies the rear of the yard with its front gable facing south-east. It has a pitched natural slate roof, hipped to the rear with a modern skylight on the left pitch. Its walls are ochre washed rubble stone. A modern glazed plywood door occupies the front gable with a 1/1 top hung fixed window above in the gable. The right wall has a fixed six pane window, formerly a doorway. The left wall is much altered with a modern window at its left end and a doorway to the right.

The animal house stands to the right of the barn with pitched natural slate roof and a chimney on the right gable. Its walls are rubble stone. The front (south-west facing) wall has a flight of stone stairs leading to a first floor door at the right, with a number of modern doors and windows at ground floor and similar openings at first floor. Its rear gable has a sheeted door at first floor. The rear wall and right gable are blank.

To the rear of these outbuildings stands a flat-iron field gate with "MOORE" etched on the right end of its top horizontal bar.

The Boundary

A cement coped random rubble wall runs to the road, with an ornate cast iron pedestrian gate dating to around 1900 at its right end. At the left end are a pair of similarly ornate carriage gates hung on stout octagonal rendered piers with conical caps and wrought iron finials, made by W.B. Greer of Belfast.

The Setting

The front garden consists of a large lawn with a gravel driveway running up its south-west edge to the house, continuing northeast into the yard and meeting a side lane. A side lane on the main road to the north-east of the complex has a pair of traditional flat iron gates on granite posts and an outbuilding on its northern side. This structure has a pitched natural slate roof and cast in-situ concrete walls with integral buttresses. Its front gable (south-east facing) is lined with cement render and has a large pair of doors. Inserted in the cement above is the date "1913". An infilled window sits on the north-east wall, with the remainder blank.